Shortly after LeBron James finalized his latest “decision” by announcing his return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the buzz in NBA circles surrounded former UCLA star Kevin Love, a 25-year old All Star entering the final year of his contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Love, who has yet to taste playoff basketball and sees a Wolves team which is stuck in the brutal Western Conference, wants out. Love would also look great throwing his signature outlet passes to and running killer pick-and-rolls with James and Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving.

One problem: to get Love, the Cavaliers will almost surely have to trade recent No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins, a raw but talented prospect who spent one season at the University of Kansas.

According to reports, the Cavaliers have offered guard Dion Waiters, forward Anthony Bennett and a first-round pick for Love. As some of the good people I know back in Minnesota might say: “that dog ain’t gonna hunt” and here’s why: the Timberwolves can’t sell their fans on a deal involving Love unless they get a future superstar in return.

Wiggins, who was curiously not mentioned by James in the essay he pieced for Sports Illustrated, has that potential. Another thing to consider: Wolves GM Milt Newton played college ball at Kansas.

Remember, it was only seven years ago that then-Wolves GM Kevin McHale gift-wrapped future Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett - and a championship - to the Celtics for a return package which featured Al Jefferson.

The Wolves haven’t sniffed the playoffs since.

“If I’m Minnesota, no way I do that deal unless I get Wiggins,” said an executive with an Eastern Conference team who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “Wiggins with (Ricky) Rubio and (rookie out of UCLA) Zach LaVine, they can sell that to their fans as a rebuild.”

Of course, Wolves Team President and Coach Flip Saunders could call the Cavs’ bluff, look for a better deal elsewhere and possibly watch Love walk as a free agent next summer while getting nothing in return but that is price of doing business in the modern NBA.

Of course, hovering over all of this - and the entire NBA - are the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, who are quietly sitting back and watching the rest of the league try to match them.

With Wiggins, the Cavaliers would be a younger, more athletic team this season but he disappeared in his final game at Kansas, scoring four points with four turnovers in an NCAA tournament loss to Stanford.

It would take a James-sized leap to ask the 19-year old to step up against a veteran team like the Spurs in the pressure cooker that is the Finals - if a team with two youngsters like Wiggins and Irving even makes it that far.

With Love joining James, Irving and Anderson Varejao along with assorted role players, the Cavs could line up in an NBA Finals and have a shot at taking the Spurs down.

The beauty of Love’s game goes beyond the double-doubles he stacks up on a nightly basis (and he finished with a league-high 65 of those last season).

He’s a killer three-point shooter in the Dirk Nowitzki mode, is a tremendous defensive rebounder with an uncanny knack for creating fast-break buckets with pinpoint outlet passes and he draws double teams in crunch time - something none of James’ Heat teammates could do against the Spurs in this year’s Finals.

“Love would allow them to create some brutal matchup problems all over the floor,” said an NBA scout for an Eastern Conference team. “His ability to set a screen before stepping out and making contested threes would open the floor for James and Irving on drives. And he’s such a good passer. To me, it’s a no brainer.”

One of James’ justifications for returning to the Cavaliers was that he wants to bring Cleveland its first championship since Jim Brown was toting the rock for the Browns. Acquiring Love, a top 10 talent who is just entering his prime and is desperate to play meaningful basketball, will put James in position to win a bushel of them. (“Not one, not two, not three…..” as James said upon joining the Heat).